Kevin Trudeau update: GINtervenors reply with fail-whale of a document, as Loony C makes more daft predictions

While serial scammer Kevin Trudeau sits in a cage in Chicago's MCC awaiting his sentencing on the criminal contempt charge (said sentencing has reportedly been moved to March 17, 2014, though I still have seen no docket entry to verify this) [see update below. ~CC], the paper shuffling continues in the civil case. As expected, a document was filed yesterday, January 20, by GINtervenors Perry Kiraly and gang's lawyers, the Shimkos, with the unwieldy title of, "Intervenor's Reply to FTC's Opposition to Intervenor's Motion to Intervene."
 
Holy Busy Prepositions, Batman! That's a whole lotta "to's" in one title.

Here is a direct link to the document. If you don't feel up to reading it at the moment, you have the option of just settling back and letting me blab on about it for a while. Or you can go do something useful. I won't be offended.

As you know if you've been keeping up here and/or on Facebook, I've been snarking about Perry being a drama queen, but when you read the document it is clear that Perry's Shimkos are drama queens too. The doc starts right off accusing the FTC of engaging in sturm und drang in its statement of opposition to the motion to intervene (filed on 20 December, 2013). I assume that this is a fancy-shmancy way of declaring that the FTC's opposition was a tad overwrought. The usage of sturm und drang in this context seems to be a tad overwrought too, but I digress.

Click to enlarge. A close-up of the page
that the fail-whale is holding in its mouth
in the graphic above.

The Shimko argues so passionately, almost as if he really believes what he is arguing, and it must be said again that I am not a qualified lawyer-ish person so I don't know the legal fine points, but it still seems to me that this document is totally missing the point, if I may err on the side of egregious understatement. Even though it seems that at least the Shimkos are finally trying to clarify why they believe that Perry and gang have "standing" in this case despite serious GIN ownership issues, it also seems that they are failing miserably. Perhaps the Shimkos just need to go back and read the hundreds and hundreds of pages of court docs that seem to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that GIN is owned by Katie (or, rather his wife, who now seems to be hiding out in Ukraine), and controlled by Katie. Therefore it was and is part of the receivership.

It's not that I blame the Shimkos for being confused. All of Katie's business affairs were set up to be confusing. But it seems that a lawyer should have a better understanding of these things. Or maybe I'm the dense one and just not reading things correctly. If so, I am in good company because the FTC lawyers are equally dense, so I don't feel so bad.

The Shimko also takes umbrage at the FTC's declaration, in their opposition to the motion to intervene, that the GIN MLM was a pyramid scheme and thus illegal, and therefore the Intervenors themselves are/were pyramid scheme participants. I wrote about that on this December 22 post. For now the point is moot because the MLM part of GIN has been suspended, but it appears to me that the Shimko was distorting and misrepresenting the FTC's declarations. To begin with, he accused the FTC of calling the Perry and his fellow Intervenors "ponzi scheme participants." Actually, no. The FTC called them "pyramid scheme participants." There is a difference between a Ponzi scheme and a pyramid scheme.

On the other hand, the FTC was a bit snarky about Perry and his pals, as reflected in the title I gave my December 22 post. And that hint of snarkiness opened the door for the Shimko to be dramatic and accuse the FTC of waging an ad hominem attack on his client. In any case, the court will ultimately be the one to decide on the legality or illegality of the GIN MLM.

* * * * *

When I read this latest court document, one of the first things that struck me was that it seemed to contradict Perry's and one of his Shimko's clear implications in recent communications that they are ready to give up the ghost with GIN. But then I thought, "Hey, maybe they are simply trying to keep their options open and get in the last word as they are legally allowed to do --- or rather, the second to the last word." As I just mentioned, the court has the final say on all of this stuff (unless of course there are appeals). Presumably major decisions will be made on January 30, when the next court hearing is scheduled.

At any rate, Perry's latest updates sent in the wake of that filing indicate that he and his pals are indeed going full speed ahead with their new club, the World Information Network, or WIN. More on that in a moment.

I noticed too that this latest court document is much more of a direct attack on the receiver than was the original motion to intervene (even though from the beginning the intervention was listed as being specifically against Robb Evans & Associates, LLC (the receiver)). Of course that is understandable, considering all of the missives that have flown back and forth since November 18 (when the motion to intervene was filed). It appears that once the Shimkos detected that they really didn't have a place at the negotiating table, as they had apparently believed originally (or at least had communicated to their client), they changed their tune.

As I have also mentioned before, it seems that in the past couple of months, a whole new meme has grown up around the receiver being the real "GIN destroyer," as opposed to others who have claimed that title for themselves. Perry and some of his fellow GINtervenors have gone on and on about how the club was so fine until the receiver took over with his bad vibes. As I noted in my previous post, even Katie's former marketing director Peter Wink, and Katie's former b.f.f. Leonard Coldwell, have been ragging on the receiver for a few months -- at least since September of last year. Much more recently, Peter even wrote that it is the receiver who destroyed GIN.

But I think that by now, many of us know who the real GIN destroyer was and is: Katie himself. With the help of his professional asset planners, he created GIN and at the same time -- either consciously or simply through his own arrogance and greed -- he planted the seeds of its destruction, nurturing those seeds from day one. The FTC and receiver deserve the lion's share of the rest of the credit (or blame, depending upon your perspective) for destroying GIN.

I noticed too that in the court doc, the Shimko snarks about the receiver letting the FTC do the real work in crafting the opposition to the motion to intervene, with the receiver merely filing a brief "me-too" document at "the eleventh hour." I feel obligated to point out that the Shimko also waited until past the eleventh hour to file his reply to the opposition. As I have mentioned a few times, the reply was due by January 17 (according to the civil case docket), and yet it was filed on January 20. This may not matter, and the Shimko did tell Perry in advance that he would have a reply filed by January 20. But unless the deadline really is NBD, it seems that the FTC and receiver could make a thing of it, and the court could decide that the document was filed too late.

I think I understand why attorneys on both sides wait until the eleventh hour to file in cases where pertinent info surfaces nearly every day, but the point is that the Shimko had no room to snark about this point.

The document contains several boring case precedents, as court docs invariably do. Precedents are like the soggy vegetables on your plate when you're a kid -- good for you, and prolly necessary for a balanced diet, but not nearly as interesting as the meat or the dessert. But I found one of the listed case precedents to be amusing, and so did my pal Tim Donohoe, who wrote:

Let's hope he [the Shimko] takes this argument to its logical conclusion.

[Quoting from the court document]
"The Receiver’s actions in cancelling [GIN] events is akin to the claimed injury in Japan Whaling Ass’n v. Am. Cetacean Soc’y, 478 U.S. 221 (U.S. 1986) wherein it was held that plaintiffs therein undoubtedly 'alleged a sufficient injury in fact in that the whale watching and studying of their members would be adversely affected by continued whale harvesting."
What he really means is that while GIN is being picked to death, all the ex gin scammers are out scamming all the whales, leaving nothing left for GIN's upper levels.

Yeah, that sounds about right. Great cetacean, Shimkos! I mean, great citation.
Here's a close-up shot of the citation (and cetacean) we're talking about, so you can get a better idea of the context.

Of course you probably need to read the court doc in its entirety, if you're interested, so you can make up your own mind about what's going on. And you really should read the document, because despite my snarking and my general cynicism about GIN and any attempt to form an alternative club, the GIN members did get screwed. They got screwed by Kevin and his cronies, though even at this late date some will not admit it. But I don't blame them for feeling that they are now being screwed by the FTC, the receiver, and the courts. And as snarkworthy as so many parts of this latest doc are, it does make the point that the real winners, income-wise, in this whole sorry saga are the lawyers and, more recently, the receiver.

* * * * *

Not surprisingly, Perry sent out an update in response to the latest court docs.

From: Perry Kiraly
Date: January 21, 2014 at 12:31:47 PM EST
To: undisclosed-recipients
Subject: SWGF/WIN Update 01-21-14 Motion Filed - WIN Launched
SWGF Update: PERRY KIRALY

January 21, 2014

Dear Fellow GIN Members,
This update contains the most important documents released to date. Documents that will affect the future of our club and the Members in many ways.

These documents were sent yesterday but are resent again today for four very important reasons. Read each of them carefully.

1. The attached motion and accompanying declaration that was filed in the court on 01-20-14 will affect the future legal standing of all GIN Members and their rightful ownership of our club's property.
2. The motion and attached updates bring crystal public clarity to the true intentions of Perry Kiraly and the SWGF, and Mr. Timothy Shimko (the attorney retained by Perry Kiraly and the many club Members and speakers backing the SWGF).
3. The updates contain the Website address of the newly established legal entity by which our club will continue and build from this point on free from interference as the World Information Network Foundation LTD / or WIN See www.winfdn.com.
4. The accounts are set up to process your credit cards or other forms of payment where 100% of the funds received will be used for the costs associated with the continuance and rebuilding of our great club.

Read each of the attached documents closely. Then act. The instructions of what to do now are in the updates.

Thank you,
Perry Kiraly

Items 1 and 2 are the court docs I've been yammering on about. As noted at the beginning of this post, you can read them here. Item 3 concerns recent communication, including a letter Perry sent yesterday to rally the troops and put a totally positive spin on the January 20 court docs.

At least it seems clear that Perry remains unmoved by the lame efforts of the IBMS Master's Society shills to get him to come on'a their house. He and the gang appear to be going full speed ahead with WIN. The nascent web site is simmering with its own sturm und drang, complete with lofty words and a pic of what appears to be something burning.

In all fairness I should note that the Shimkos and Perry do not have a monopoly on drama queendom and snide remarks. As noted above, the FTC's lawyers have similarly engaged, as have Katie and his legal team. That's the real reason I find these court documents so entertaining -- that, and the inescapable fact that I am easily amused.

Meanwhile, in other GIN scavenger circles...
You may have seen this email that went out to the GIN membership this past weekend from the fabled GIN Leadership Roundtable (LRT), whose names are finally revealed.

GIN LEADERSHIP ROUNDTABLE ANNOUNCEMENT

Dear GIN Members and Associates,
While we are still in the process of defining our priorities for the next few months, the Leadership Roundtable (LRT) Members would like to submit a collaborative, unified view to you, as a GIN club Member or Associate in good standing. The purpose of our letter is to make our position clear, and to communicate that we are fundamentally interested in the well-being of many, not the interests of a few.

First of all, who are we? The LRT consists of both of GIN’s previous Member Advisory Board and Affiliate Advisory Board Members that were voted on by membership, or appointed by the club Members who expressed interest in continuing to serve our club. Many of the nine of us have been in GIN since the onset of our club. We are Members that have shown our commitment to the club over the years in a number of ways. We are NOT a group that has been appointed by the Receivers, nor do we represent their views. We are NOT a board of directors, NOR are we self-appointed.

We, as a group of Members, are interested in the continuity, and ultimate thriving of our club, and are open to what changes may transpire after the club transitions. In keeping with the intent of GIN’s original Advisory Boards purpose, our desire is that your views and wishes are heard, and impact the direction that GIN takes. Since our priority is to keep the club’s principles and beliefs whole, and allow what GIN stands for to remain intact, we accept the challenge to assist and represent you, in the context of completing our commitment to our previous advisory board’s term. While we are not presently privy to most of the information at GIN Headquarters, our goal as leaders on the LRT is to achieve as much transparency and accountability to GIN’s Members and Associates as beneficially possible and as soon as possible.

It is apparent in our exchanges, both informally among each other, and during our formal inaugural January 9th meeting, that all the LRT Members feel love, respect, and trust for each of you . . . Members and Associates committed to our club. Each of us is genuinely interested, and united in achieving the well-being and continuity of this club. The respect we have for each other, and for the tenacity of our entire club community acting in good faith, remains a constant.

Until recently, there has not been any clarity on the potential "how" during the process of much change, over which none of us had any control. We believe and realize that the best and most viable option to ensure future growth and success of our club is for the Members and Associates to buy it from the Receivers. We are also interested in promoting hope, belief, and excitement for a future GIN owned, and run, by its Members. In the interest of keeping our club healthy and to encourage momentum, we support continuing to pay our monthly dues. Yes, we know some of the money may pay the Receiver’s expenses, but we choose to FOCUS ON WHAT WE WANT, knowing that the future is OURS to write. Any short term decisions can and will be revisited once we have control of the club, so please do not concern yourself with doom and gloom others may be preaching. Those of you who are familiar with the training and use of the words “Cancel, Cancel,” may want to use this to clear the rats out of your head.

Additionally, we as a group of nine committed Members and leaders, speak in a unified voice in stating we are not in general support of those among us who are propagating fear and loss. To those few individuals we say “CANCEL, CANCEL.” To quote from the Myth Busters, “I reject your reality and substitute my own.” The New Year will bring Hope, Life, and Love for GIN.

Again, buying the club is really a no-brainer. Starting over from scratch would be immensely time consuming and a huge and expensive undertaking. Without the basis and infrastructure in place, there would be a need to invest a substantial amount of time and energy to re-build, find, or create: a new Success Mastery Course, the IT infrastructure, the video webinars, the live seminars, the already trained staff, the vendors, the speakers, and on and on. While a degree of rebuilding will be necessary in whichever scenario the club membership chooses, our desire is to have the least amount of disruption in the interest of ensuring the stability and continuity of our club.

One of the outcomes of our January 9th meeting was to endorse the formation of a new website devoted to bringing our Members and Associates together in unity and make a bid to buy the club. We hope this will be accomplished in the next seven days. To reiterate, in keeping with the positive energy and communicative style the LRT wishes to convey, we want to make information available to you as soon as beneficially possible.

You are welcome to ask any questions you may have using the "Member Advisory" (note this is for Members only) section on the Online Community of the GIN Website, which had already been set up to provide feedback. If the answer is available (note that we do not have access to any financial or legal information of the club) and the question is positive in nature, we will do our utmost to answer as soon as possible. We will make available additional information, including a website financed by an LRT Member shortly.

We are grateful to our Chairman, Greg Kramer, for his ongoing commitment, tenacity, and love for our club. These characteristics have been displayed by each of the LRT Members, including our Co-Chair Bob Shontz. Note that LRT membership consists of three One-Star Platinums, a Member of GIN's speaker faculty, a Go-Getter, and many Inner Circle Members. All are Level VI Members or Level VI Candidates, and all were elected GIN Advisory Board Members.

Whatever the club’s overall Members collectively create, and whatever transpires, at this time the nine of us feel blessed to have the opportunity to work alongside each other, as a Member of, and in service to, our fine club. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to a great 2014!

Sincerely yours,
GIN Leadership Roundtable
Greg Kramer, Chairman
Bob Shontz, Co-Chairman
Marjorie Alayon
Nancy Ashley
JoAnn Brownell
Phil Catalano
Roevel Guzman
Jacques Patenaude
Eli Rook

Word has it that two folks who had been named to the LRT have already resigned their positions because they're tired of the b.s. Their names do not appear on this list. I guess they took another look at the drivel that's oozing out of the GIN offices and said, "CANCEL, CANCEL."

Coldwell the Maleficent
Meanwhile, Germany's answer to the late Johnny Carson's fortuneteller character Carnac the Magnificent, Mocktor Loony Coldwell, is making predictions about the upcoming hearing on January 30. Here, unedited, is a January 16 prognostication:

Here is my prediction: on January fist the closing of Gin will be finalized. Many Gin staff and speakers will be personally indicted. Trudeau will never ever see the light of day again. St Patricks day will be just the beginning of the end for inmate # 18046036.

Ah, Loony, Loony. Schadenfreude is such an awful color on you. Stick to pink and aqua. But come to think of it, you wouldn't look bad in orange.

I believe that by "January fist" the little man actually meant "February first," but I could be wrong. Perhaps he is making some retro-prediction, or he is thinking of January 1, 2015. And maybe he is obsessed with fists for some reason. Come to think of it, that's not the first Facebook post in which he has talked about fists. I wonder why he is so interested in them. This might explain things a little.

In a subsequent post on the same thread Loony wrote that he's taking bets about his predictions, and he brags about having all of the inside, behind-the-scenes knowledge (the knowledge that all of the "wannabe's" don't possess), and he also warns that more arrests are forthcoming. Here's a closer-up shot of that thread:

Since then, Loony has been busy on Facebook with more rants and opinions about the "big legal judgement [sic] day" that is coming. Naturally he listed the new Leadership Roundtable members as being conspirators to keep the "criminal organization" going on. He declares that the GIN shell is now "the perfect breading found [sic] for more potential crimes and fraud." (Screen shot below; from one of his rants earlier today, 21 January). It's not that I disagree with the contention that GIN is composed of lies and liars. That's a given. But when Loony talks about those issues, it's another pot-and-kettle deal.

That's it for now, Dear Ones. It's back to work on real, paying projects for me, but I will continue to strive to keep you updated.

Update, 24 January 2014: Docket entry was finally made on 22 January, 2014, regarding Katie's sentencing.

In other news, here's the new web site from one of the major GIN scavenger groups. This is the official home of GIN's new Leadership Roundtable, who have embarked on an earnest effort to raise funds to buy GIN and pay lawyers and so forth. Be sure to look at some of the "names" who have endorsed this effort. By the way, these folks have also adopted the phoenix as their symbol, though the image that appears on their web site now appears to have been borrowed from Google images. Hey, no biggie. Anyway, it looks as if we have dueling phoenixes: The GIN burning bird v the WIN burning bird.